Work is set to start next week on a controversial wind farm comprising six massive turbines next to a picturesque Rotherham village.

The Penny Hill Wind Farm is being built on agricultural land next to the farming village of Ulley .

Developed by County Durham-based Banks Renewables, it is due to be operational next March

Plans for the 130m high turbines on the wind farm sparked a massive protest from Ulley villagers and residents in surrounding villages, but Rotherham Council approved the planning application.

Peter Longbottom, Banks business development manager, told a Rotherham Council Assembly in Ulley that all heavy goods vehicles taking the turbines and other materials to the site would travel along the M1, A57 and then on Penny Hill Lane to create minimal disturbance.

Last year, Penny Hill Wind Farm provided £50,000 to set up a Rotherham Warm Zone which has resulted in a number of local properties being improved to reduce energy bills with more to follow.

And when the turbines are operational the wind farm will invest £20,400 each year into a community fund to be spent on local projects.

In addition, more than 500m of new hedgerows and new trees will be planted to enhance habitats for the local wildlife.

The wind farm, which has a working life of 25 years, will provide more than 40 million units of renewable energy each year, enough to power 12,000 households each year.

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article is owned by the author or publisher indicated. Its availability here constitutes a "fair use" as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law as well as in similar "fair dealing" exceptions of the copyright laws of other nations, as part of National Wind Watch's noncommercial effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information. For more information, click here. Send takedown inquiry or request to excerpt to query/wind-watch.org. Send general inquiries and comments to query/wind-watch.org.